Thank You For Loving Me
by Ang B
Summary: Reposting on NEW username, lost access to other account. 'Thank You for Loving Me,' follows the lives of 2 people in love and the troubles that lie ahead. Mainly Brucas, with bits of other couples.
1. Inside Your Heaven

'_Four. Three. Two. One. Okay, one more time. Count Brooke, ignore him.' _Her own voice streamed through her head as she coached herself through his sweet torture. If he continued to kiss her like this she was sure to break. It wasn't that she didn't want to be with him, she'd just promised herself she wouldn't be until they were both ready to commit to that again. As the seconds rushed by, his kisses became longer, more intense causing her knees to grow weak. No matter how hard she tried to pull away, she couldn't. Her lips were kissing back just as eagerly as his. A part of her wondered if he'd coated his lips in sugar because his kiss tasted especially good to her right now. Neither had opened their mouths yet, but you still couldn't tell where one mouth started and the other began. Pulling away wasn't an option. Somehow Lucas knew her knees were about to buckle so he led her backwards, pressing her back up against the wall by his bedroom door. What they were doing was risqué; Karen could come home at any second and bust them. Lucas didn't seem to care. His hands move to her hips, his body pressed into hers. Almost as if they had a mind of their own, Brooke's hands found their way into the hair at the back of Lucas' head just above the base of his neck. His right hand moved up the hem of her t-shirt slipping around to rest on her flat stomach. His movement earned a soft sigh from Brooke. His hand slipped out from her shirt and he pulled away from her completely. Brooke looked up into his eyes, taking in deep breaths to catch her breath. Lucas looked down at her, their eyes connected, staring at each other. Nothing could've broken their stare. Her hands had since fallen to her sides. Lucas, never taking his eyes off of hers, moved his hands to the hem of her t-shirt and pulled it over her head. Still, their gaze wasn't broken. She gulped silently and moved her hands to the sides of his face, moving her head in and placing her lips over his. There was no turning back now. The kiss was aggressive on her part which surprised him but he wasn't going to stop her. He dropped her shirt to the floor. His arms went to her waist, wrapping them around her slim body and lifting her into his arms. Instinctively, her legs wrapped around his waist. Lucas pressed her against the wall, giving her support as his hand fumbled to find the handle of his bedroom door to open it. Brooke held herself around him tighter, letting him get the door open a little easier. Once he finally turned the knob, he kicked the door open with his foot and carried her inside. It didn't take long for him to stumble over to the bed, dropping them both down on it.

"That was… wow," Lucas managed to get out in between breaths as he rolled his body off of Brooke's. All she could do was nod; breathing had become hard for her.

"You okay?" Lucas asked turning to face her as he covered them with the blankets on his bed.

"Never better," Brooke replied, cuddling her body up against his with a bright smile.

"Lucas, I'm home," a faint call echoed through the house just as the two had shut their eyes to relax.

"Damnit," Lucas said in a rushed voice, hurrying to get out of the bed. Brooke watched him for a second before reality hit. Karen was home. They were in her house, naked. If there was a time for panicking, this was definitely it.

"Lucas?" Karen's voice had gotten a little louder; she was closer to his room.

"Brooke get dressed," Lucas said throwing her jeans over to her. Brooke had since gotten out of bed, scanning the floor for her clothes.

Brooke smirked, it wasn't her fault she couldn't find her clothes, "Where's my bra?" Brooke put her underwear on, pulling her jeans up her legs after that.

Lucas tossed her bra over to her; somehow it'd gotten caught on his mini basketball hoop. Talk about scoring. Lucas had gotten dressed and had started to throw his sheets around on his bed, making it look neater then it was. Brooke had squatted down and was throwing things around trying to find her shirt, "Luke where'd you throw my shirt?"

Lucas shrugged and dropped down on his bed, picking up a random book and pretending to read.

"Luke," Brooke said louder as she stood up, "Where'd you throw my shirt?"

The bedroom door opened suddenly, "This shirt?"

Brooke glanced over towards the voice; Karen stood holding the shirt Luke had discarded outside the door. Her eyes grew wide, arms instinctively moving to cover herself. Lucas groaned and got up, taking the shirt from his mothers hand and tossing it to a beat red Brooke.

"It's not..." Lucas began before he was cut off by Karen.

"What it looks like? I've heard the story before Lucas. Please, do tell me what it is then," Karen said glancing between the two teenagers.

"It's not his fault," Brooke said completely ready to take the blame for what happened. "We were just kissing, he stopped… I started it again." That was partially the truth.

Lucas shook his head, he wasn't embarrassed, "Yeah I stopped kissing her… but only to take off her shirt, then she started kissing me again. We had sex; I'm not going to deny it. Ground me, do what you must."

Brooke smiled, for some reason it felt nice to hear him say that. Lucas smiled back at her; neither bothering to look at Karen's stunned face.

"Brooke, if you'll excuse us, I need to speak with my son," Karen said simply.

Brooke quickly nodded, "Yeah. Sure. I'll see you later Luke."

He pulled her to him, placed a few gentle kisses on her lips and let her go. As she was walking out the backdoor of his room she turned back to face him, "I love you."

A smile that warmed Brooke's heart crossed his face again, "I love you too." With that she left his bedroom and headed out to her car hoping Karen would go a little easy on him.

Karen shook her head at her son. She couldn't be mad at him, especially not after hearing them exchange I love yous. Her main goal in life was to make her son happy and right now she'd never seen him happier. "I hope I don't have to warn you to be careful."

Lucas shook his head, "No, we're okay."

"Good. Well... don't let this happen again," she couldn't ground him. Karen turned and started out of his room, "Oh and Luke..." She turned to face him again, "I'm glad you're happy."

Lucas smiled, "Yeah me too."

Note: So here it is. Another fanfiction. I'm very known to have more than one fanfiction going at once. I've got this one pretty planned out. My best friend and I discussed it; she likes the idea so you can all thank Hillary for the motivation. According to what you all say, this may be an M rated fiction.


	2. Come Back Down

Sunday, 2 days after the incident at Karen's. Brooke was at the café; Lucas was meeting her there in 10 minutes. She'd gotten the letter Lucas had sent to her, considered burning it, lit the corner on fire then put it out. Who would it hurt to read it? She glanced around her, making sure nobody was deliberately staring, not that they would be, but she was just checking. Her freshly manicured fingernail slipped under the fold of the envelope and slid along it, tearing open the envelope. She pulled the pieces of folded paper out of the envelope and dropped it to the table. Carefully, as if it were breakable, she unfolded the letter. An instant smile appeared on her face at his scribbled handwriting, such a guy.

_Brooke,_

_I know it annoys you when I constantly quote your letters, but doesn't that say something? I read each one over and over; I don't want to miss a thing. So, here's my letter. One you can make fun of me for._

_I don't know where to start when it comes to you. There's just so much I could say. I could give you one of those cheesy lines so you can make fun of me… let's see. I think I can do that. In your eye's I see all I see all I need, everything you are is everything to me. Cheesy enough? I think so. Okay, serious time... not that that wasn't serious._

_I love you, it's really that simple. I've never been so sure of anything in my life. I really believe that together we can make it through even though we have a knack for breaking each others hearts. At this point I really can't imagine my life without you in it, and when I do, life seems so boring. When you were in California, my body felt empty. My heart was with you in California._

_There's this song by The Ataris called 'I Won't Spend another Night Alone.' There's a part of the song that goes, "You're comfort on my mind and you're with me all the time. And lot's of feelings I can't explain. I won't spend another night alone. Out of every girl I meet, no other can compete. I'd ditch 'em all for a night with you. I know you don't believe you mean this much to me but I promise that you do. If I had one wish this is what it would be: I'd ask you to spend all your time with me, that'd we'd be together forever." I listened to this song a lot while you were gone. I'd emailed you twice. I know you never got them; I kept on unsending them, what a handy AOL tool right? In those emails I sent you these song lyrics, and a little message just telling you how much I missed you and that I loved you._

_I'm glad you're back Cheery. You're the one for me._

_Lucas_

"Is that a tear?" A male voice asked as Brooke placed the pieces of paper down on the table in front of her. Brooke coughed pathetically and smiled as she looked up at the voice. His hand touched her cheek, the pad of his thumb gliding across her face to wipe away the few tears.

"You're late," she managed to say as he sat down next to her in the booth.

"And you look absolutely gorgeous," Lucas replied with a smile.

Brooke rolled her eyes at his attempt of getting off the hook, "Where were you?"

"Game with Skills ran a little late," Lucas replied, "I see you read my letter."

"Yeah, it had a little fight with the lighter, but it came out alive."

Lucas smiled and kissed Brooke's forehead.

Brooke laughed, "I love you too… So I'm surprised you were allowed to come out and see me. You didn't get grounded?"

Luke shook his head, "Nah. She just told me to make sure we're careful. We don't need a repeat of sophomore year do we?"

Brooke shook her head, "Oh hell no."

"Exactly what I told her."

"So what'd you want to talk about? You said you had to tell me something, or was that you aren't grounded what you had to say?"

Lucas shook his head, "No. How about we discuss it over a couple burgers?"

Brooke scrunched her nose, "I'm not in the mood. But an ice cream sundae sounds oh so very wonderful."

Lucas smiled, "You got it Pretty Girl."

"Do you remember last year, when Dan had his heart attack?" Lucas asked as he bit down into his cheeseburger 20 minutes later. His mom had made him a burger while Lucas made Brooke her ideal sundae. Vanilla ice cream, 2 scoops instead of 3, chocolate syrup not hot fudge with rainbow sprinkles, no whipped cream and 2 cherries on the top was enough to make her happy.

Brooke plopped her spoon into her mouth and nodded as she pulled it out after eating the ice cream off it, "What about it?"

"Remember how Nathan, Keith and I all had to take those tests to see if we had the heart problem too?" Lucas asked refusing to look up at her. If he did he would chicken out. But being that they were together and happy, he had to tell her about his HCM. After all, she did have the right to know and the longer he waited the worse the outcome would be.

Brooke nodded again, "None of you had it." She scooped up more ice cream onto her spoon and ate it. "What's the point?" She asked placing a cherry in her mouth and pulling the stem off of it.

Lucas looked up and faced Brooke; he waited for her to stop chewing before he kissed her softly on the lips, "I love you."

Brooke gave him a confused smile, "Uh, I love you too… what's wrong Luke?"

He took in a deep breath, gathering up his courage, "When Keith threw out his negative results… I took them out of the trash and switched them with mine. My test results came back positive. I do have HCM."

Brooke dropped her spoon on the table, her mouth dropping open, "You lied."

Lucas shook his head, "No... Brooke. Well yes but I had a reason."

She quickly shook her head, "You lied to me, again. You promised no more lies."

"Dan was going to ruin me, my mom... Keith. I couldn't afford the cost of the medicine and neither could my mom. Dan was paying for them."

"I've got to go… Lucas let me out of the booth," Brooke demanded barely above a whisper as she tried to push him away from her.

"Brooke please," Lucas started, "Hear me out."

Her head shook for a few seconds, "Not now. I... I need to think. You have to let me go."

Lucas sighed, what could he do besides let her go? He started to slide from the booth; she barely allowed him the time to move, she was pushing him to get away.

"I'm sorry," he told her. '_One last try_,' he thought. "Please Brooke. Just... just let me explain it to you."

Surprisingly, Brooke stopped her movements just as Lucas stood up and moved out of the way. Her brown eyes closed and she shook her head as a tear fell from the corner of her eye, "Later." Her head shook from side to side twice, "Not now."

"When?" Lucas asked helping her stand up from the booth.

"Whenever I decide I can look at you again," She started to walk away but turned and faced him again, "I'll call." With that said she pushed the door of the café open and walked out. She couldn't talk to him right now, no matter how badly she wanted to. His letter most definitely was right; they had a knack for hurting each other.

It's been 3 days, 2 hours, 17 minutes, and 43 seconds since she last saw Lucas. One thing was for sure, she missed him. Brooke had avoided him at all costs, ignoring him when she spoke to her, not answering calls or emails, even taking different routes in the hallway so she didn't have to see him.

"Read it Brooke or I'll force you to," Haley demanded as she gestured to the letter Lucas had given Brooke today at lunch. The two were sitting on the couch of their apartment.

"No Hales, I won't," Brooke replied giving the letter a cold glare.

"You leave me no choice," Haley said straddling Brooke's lap and leaning her weight down. She grabbed the letter and opened it. "Last chance, read it yourself or I read it to you and gain rights to make fun of you for the rest of your life."

Brooke snatched the letter from Haley, "Get off me I'll read it." She wiggled underneath Haley and pushed her off. She leaned her head on the arm of the couch and sighed turning her attention to his letter. Song lyrics. Typical. She didn't bother to read the lyrics and tossed the paper to the table, "It's a song. Not even a letter. What does it matter?"

Haley handed her another piece of paper she pulled from the envelope, "With a letter to go along."

Brooke took it and unfolded it.

_Tell Haley to..._

Brooke didn't bother finishing it. She handed it to Haley, "It's for you."

Haley nodded and took the paper quickly reading it. She stood up and went to the CD player below the TV in the living room. She pressed the power button, switched it to disc 4 and then to track 4 and pressed play, "Listen to it Brooke."

Brooke nodded, "Whatever."

Music pooled through the speakers accompanied by a distinct voice, one anyone could pick out. Phil Collins. Brooke was tempted to smile, but she didn't.

_We had a life, we had a love, But you don't know what you've got 'til you lose it Well that was then and this is now And I want you back How many times do I have to say I'm sorry_

_How can something so good go so bad How can something so right go so wrong I don't know, I don't have all the answers But I want you back How many times can I say I'm sorry_

_You can run, and you can hide But I'm not leaving less you come with me We've had our problems but I'm on your side You're all I need, please believe in me_

_I only wanted someone to love But something happened on the way to heaven It got a hold of me and wouldn't let go And I want you back How many times do I have to say I'm sorry_

_You can run..._

_They say you can't take it with you When you go And I believe it But taking what I've got or being Here with you, you know I'd rather leave it_

_You can run…_

By the time the song was over tears were pouring down Brooke's cheeks. She wanted him too, no matter how bad he hurt her. The truth was, at least according to her, that no matter what happens they were meant to be together and fighting it would just be stupid. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and stood up just as she heard Haley speaking.

"No... Oh my god, Nathan are you kidding me? Please say you're kidding," Haley's panicked voice asked her cell phone. There was a pause, "No, she's here I'll tell her. Thanks Nathan. We'll be there as soon as possible." She hung up her cell phone.

"What's wrong?" Brooke asked from the doorway to their bedroom. She leaned against the doorframe.

"Lucas-," Haley began before being cut off by Brooke.

"I was just going to go see him. I was-," Brooke said with a smile.

"No, Brooke… Lucas- he's in the hospital."

The words felt like sharp knives stabbing her continuously in the heart. Her breath was caught in her throat, like someone just knocked the wind out of her. Not again, not the hospital again.

"It's his heart," Haley said as she walked towards Brooke. She collapsed into her arms, tears falling from her eyes again, this time out of sorrow. Haley held onto Brooke tightly, "C'mon, hold your own weight a little… We'll get over to the hospital."

Brooke nodded and tried to gather herself together, leaning a bit of her weight on Haley, Haley doing the same to Brooke. The two girls headed out of the apartment, off to see the man they both loved, each in different ways.

Note: I noticed that most people want it to be Pathan and Jaley but I forgot that in order for this story to work out the way I'd initially planned it would HAVE to be Naley and Jeyton. So, in compensation for this my other story will become Brucas, Jaley and Pathan. I'm so sorry.


	3. Crazy For This Girl

Note: Thank you to everyone who left reviews. It really does mean a lot to me. I'm sorry to all the people who hoped it would be Pathan and Jaley. I have recently had the incentive to write Pathan but Jaley... I don't see how they'd work. I contemplated Jake and Haley finding new loves but I just decided that to make my original plot work it'd have to be Naley and Jeyton, besides I ship both of those couples. My other story, "Where Is Your Heart?" has officially become Pathan and Jaley though. Well I hope I didn't loose any readers of this one because of the pairings. If you haven't already realized, the chapters are all named after songs, but no they might not have any relation to the song, so yeah. Okay, on with the story now.

"Right now it's only family allowed in the room," a much too tall dark haired doctor replied gently to Brooke's question.

Brooke looked up at the man with tears in her eyes, "He's my boyfriend, please let me see him."

Nathan appeared from a hallway to the right of Brooke, Haley and the doctor.

"I'm sorry," the doctor replied glancing to Nathan who had joined them. "I'm sure he can fill you in on Mr. Scott's condition." With that said the doctor headed back down the hallway Nathan had just come from.

"How is he?" Brooke asked turning to face Nathan, still gripping Haley for dear life.

"Unconscious, hooked up to a hell of a lot of wires. Doctor said they almost lost him but they managed to stabilize his heart," Nathan told her.

"What caused the heart attack?" Haley asked him, looking up to meet her husbands eyes.

"One on one basketball game with Skills," Nathan replied.

"Is he going to be okay?" Brooke asked trying to hold back her tears.

Nathan shrugged, "I hope so."

Brooke coughed, "I think I'm going to be sick."

Haley rubbed her back, "You'll be fine Brooke. Let's go sit and wait for Karen okay?"

Brooke shook her head, "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in a second."

Once inside a stall of the bathroom Brooke sat down on the toilet cover and dropped her head into her hands. She took in a deep breath and tried to keep herself from crying, it wasn't working. '_How could he do this to me? Why wasn't he being careful? I have to see him. I have to._' Jumbles of thoughts were running through her head. Bottom line, she needed to see him. She coughed again; an unexpected urge to throw up came over her as she moved away from the toilet bowl. She dropped to her knees, threw the cover up and spilled the contents of her stomach into it. She shuddered as she finished, dropping down backwards so she fell, her head hitting the stall door as she started to cry again. Her hands wrapped around her knees and she pulled them to her chest. She'd felt like crap all day and Lucas' unexpected hospital visit wasn't helping her at all.

"Brooke?" Haley called as she entered the bathroom, "You in here?" She could hear the sound of someone crying as she walked inside the bathroom. "Brooke?" Haley called again as she looked at the floor by each stall. She stopped when she saw Brooke's back leaning against the door. She was certain it was Brooke, not many people can pull off a green tank top.

"You okay?" Haley asked as she squatted to the floor.

Brooke shook her head; the tears were still falling from her eyes, "Uh... yeah. I'll be out in a second." Brooke used the back of her hand to wipe her eyes and stood up, flushing the toilet bowl and unlocking her stall. She stepped out of it and passed right by Haley, immediately moving towards the sink to wash out her mouth. The taste in her mouth was horrible. Brooke spit the water out of her mouth and quickly splashed water on her face. Haley watched her for a moment before speaking, "Brooke, are you okay?"

Brooke turned away from the sink to face Haley, forcing a smile, "Yeah. I'm okay; I just need to see Luke. He needs to know I love him."

Haley pulled Brooke into a hug, "Nathan went back to see him. He said Luke's back to consciousness. Nathan told Luke you were here. Lucas knows you love him."

"But does he know I forgive him?" Brooke asked.

"C'mon, I'll get you into the room. I'll work some good ol' Haley magic. You both need to see each other," Haley told her.

Brooke pulled away from Haley's embrace and nodded.

"Lucas Scott is here, we got a call from his brother, my husband. We need to see my brother-in-law; could we have his room number please?" Haley asked hopefully.

The woman at the receptionist desk glanced at the computer, clicked a few buttons and typed in Lucas' name. She looked up, "It says family only. What is her relation to Mr. Scott?" She gestured to Brooke. Haley looked from the receptionist to Brooke who was staring back at her hoping Haley had a good enough answer.

"She's his fiancée," a voice said from behind the two of them. Both Brooke and Haley turned to face the speaker. Brooke smiled, "Karen."

"Fiancée?" The receptionist asked quizzically, "The boy in question is only 17."

"He's my son, and this is my soon to be daughter-in-law. Who are you to question it? Please inform Haley of Lucas' condition while I bring him his fiancée," Karen said with a smile as she turned, pulling Brooke away with her.

"Room 137, he just regained consciousness and he's doing better," the receptionist told Haley.

Brooke wrapped her arms around Karen and the two embraced for a moment, "I'll take you to see him, Nathan's with him."

The two women left Haley behind and headed down the hallway that hand the 100-200 rooms branch off of it.

"Lucas needs your smiling face," Karen told Brooke as the two walked down the hall.

"I don't know about smiles, but yeah I need to see him too. He needs to know I forgive him. I overreacted. I mean, at least he told me," Brooke replied.

"What happened?"

"Remember when Lucas and I were at the café?"

Karen nodded, "He never gave me the details on that, but I figured he did something to hurt you."

Brooke sighed, "He told me about his HCM and I flipped out. I care about your son so much and the thought of loosing him, it just kills me. I don't want a repeat of last time. My heart wouldn't be able to take it. I'm in love with him, I couldn't stand to loose him again."

Karen put her arm around Brooke's shoulders, "He loves you too, trust me." Karen stopped at the closed door in front of them. 137. "I'll get Nathan out and let you and Lucas talk."

Brooke nodded as Karen left the hall, leaving Brooke outside alone. It was 5 long minutes of Brooke reminding herself not to cry before Karen and Nathan appeared in the hallway, Nathan shutting the door to Lucas' room behind him. Karen touched Brooke's shoulder reassuringly and led Nathan back towards the waiting room. Brooke took in another deep breath and opened Lucas' door. Her smile returned to her face as she saw him, even though he didn't look great.

"Nate said you were here," Lucas told her in a raspy voice.

Brooke nodded slowly, and shut his door behind her.

"Still not talking to me?" Lucas asked softly, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Brooke didn't answer him. She sat down on his bed beside his waist and leaned down to his face. She placed a kiss on both cheeks, his nose, up to his forehead and below both ears before she finally kissed his lips.

"I'm sorry Luke. I overreacted the other day… I never should have ignored you. That song you sent for me to listen to… you never lost me," she placed a hand on his cheek, "You'll never loose me. I'm yours Luke, forever."

Lucas smiled, "I love you Pretty Girl."

Brooke kissed his lips softly, "I love you too Broody." They both smiled at the nickname, neither had used or heard that name in a very long time.

He placed his hand over the hand she had on his cheek, "I'm sorry I never told you about the HCM. It was wrong of me," he took their hands off his cheek and held onto hers tightly, "I couldn't let him destroy my family. I wanted to bring him down."

"It's okay, I know now. It's okay," Brooke reassured him, "How are you feeling? Does anything hurt? Did the doctors say how long you'd be in here for?"

Lucas smiled at the questions, that was Brooke alright, nosey as ever. But she was his nosey Brooke, "I'm as good as I can be. Pains at a minimum but I'm loaded with drugs. There's a surgery they can perform to help fix the problem but it's costly and would leave me in the hospital for 2 months."

Brooke nodded; she didn't really know what to say, "That's better than nothing right?"

"Right," he replied.

"You had me so scared. When Haley told me, I couldn't even stand up on my own. You're not allowed to play basketball EVER again, got it? Okay, good." She didn't even leave him time to reply.

Lucas laughed a slightly painful laugh.

"No... Don't laugh, it hurts. I'm sorry. I'll shut up."

Lucas moved his hand up to her cheek and touched her face gently, "It's okay Brooke. Your voice is just the medicine I need."

She leaned her head into his hand a bit and kissed his palm, "By the way… if anyone asks, we're engaged."

Lucas laughed softly again, "Original Brooke."

"Actually, it was your mom," she replied, "Which surprised me. She just wanted to get me in to see you."

Lucas smiled, "That's my mom for you… You look like you had a rough day. Do me a favor okay?"

"Anything," Brooke said with a nod.

"Go home, take a shower, sleep, and eat," Lucas told her.

"But-"

Lucas cut her off, "And when you're done you get your little ass back here with a cheeseburger in hand."

Brooke smiled and leaned down to kiss him once more, "Your wish is my command."

"I could get used to that," Lucas replied with a smile.

"What? Me doing everything you want?" Brooke asked with a smile as well.

"No. Those kisses."

"Good, you've got yourself a lifetime supply of those."

"Go Brooke, you need to sleep," Lucas told her.

She stood up from the bed and nodded, "Yeah. I'll be back later okay? I'll be here until they drag me out by my hair."

"They wouldn't get that drastic."

Brooke shrugged, leaned down to kiss him again and pulled back, "I love you Luke."

"I love you too Brooke."

She turned away from him and headed for the door, "Haley will be in here next I bet. She wants to see you."

Lucas laughed a bit, "Great."

Brooke blew him one more kiss and turned the handle on the door, opening it and stepping through, "Love you."

"You already said that."

"So?"

"Love you too."

Brooke shut the door and headed back down the hallway. '_Shower, eat, sleep… cheeseburger._' Brooke repeated over and over in her head, '_Won't take me that long._'


	4. Sweet Misery

"Stop it Brooke," Peyton exclaimed as she entered her best friend's apartment, "You're going to wear a hole in the floor." Peyton closed the door behind her and moved quickly towards Brooke who was pacing the floor of the apartment. "What's wrong?"

Brooke looked to Peyton who she'd called a mere 10 minutes before, "I can't do it."

Peyton looked at Brooke confused as she placed her hands on Brooke's shoulders, stopping her from pacing the floor. "Can't do what?"

Brooke groaned and plopped down on the stool at the counter, "I took the damn shower, I ate a sandwich, I even slept for an hour but I can't do it!"

Peyton sat down on the stool beside Brooke, "What can't you do?"

Brooke groaned and dropped her head to the countertop, "Make a cheeseburger."

Peyton slapped the back of Brooke's head, "You idiot! You had me scared!"

Brooke sighed, "Sorry." She picked her head up, "You've got to help me. Lucas wanted a cheeseburger and I want to make one for him but it just turned into a disaster area."

_So far so good, she'd gotten chop meat from the grocery store and headed home. She knew so much as to take the meat out of the package, kneed it and shape it into a burger. Haley had one of those George Forman grills so she was set with the means to cook it. Brooke had turned on the grill, put the burger on it, waited a bit and then realized the burger was much too big. Being as 'smart' as she was, she'd cut it in half and tried again, this time it was okay but the burger tasted like crap when she tried it and she'd forgotten to put the cheese on. The counter was a mess; she'd taken out everything possible from the drawers just to make the burger. After high school, cooking lessons._

Peyton laughed as she surveyed the mess in the kitchen, "Poor Brooke. You, stay out of the kitchen. Go and sleep for a bit while I make the cheeseburger okay?"

Brooke nodded and stood up. She quickly hugged her best friend, "You're a goddess."

Peyton smiled and walked into the kitchen, "I know." First task, clean the mess, then start the burger. '_Here goes nothing,_' she thought as Brooke headed into the bedroom.

"Did you actually sleep?" Lucas asked softly as Brooke sat down on his bed a couple hours later.

She nodded, "I got an hour or so in. I did everything you asked."

"Where's my cheeseburger?" Lucas asked with a smile.

Brooke placed a brown paper bag on his lap and leaned down to kiss his forehead, "I tried to do it myself but it was a little disastrous. Peyton helped me out."

"As long as it's better than this hospital food, I'm okay," Lucas said as he moved his hands towards the bag.

Brooke instantly started to help him. She set up his food in front of him and got up off the bed, "I brought you something to make you feel a little better." She dug through her pocketbook, pulled out her old CD player and placed a CD into it.

"Brooke, I don't want to listen to any of that rap stuff you listen to," Lucas said as he bit into his burger.

"So little faith," Brooke said gently as she pressed play on the CD player and put the volume on low, putting the headphones in his ears.

"Since when did you listen to rock?" Lucas asked as a song started. He knew what it was, but he just couldn't pick out the band, the beginning music was like a lot of other bands he listened to.

"So little faith," Brooke repeated as she changed the song, "This is my favorite. Back when we first started dating, in sophomore year I began listening to some of Peyton's music, I wanted to be closer to you. I liked a lot of it so I started paying attention to rock music. This band's old, one of my favorites. This song is mine for you." She pressed play again.

"_It's hard for me to say the things I want to say sometimes. There's no one here but you and me and that broken old street light. Lock the doors; we'll leave the world outside. All I've got to give to you is these five words a night. Thank you for loving me, for being my eyes when I couldn't see. For parting my lips when I couldn't breathe, thank you, for loving me. Thank you for loving me. I never knew I had a dream until that dream was you. When I look into your eyes the skies a different blue, cross my heart I wear no disguise. If I tried, you'd make believe that you believed my lies."_

Lucas had heard enough, he pulled the headphones out of his ears and looked up at Brooke who was standing over him, watching him as he listened to the song, "You Bon Jovi'd me!"

Brooke gave him an innocent smile, "I really think of you during that song. The first time I heard it, you were on my mind."

Lucas reached his hand out to touch hers. She took his hand and moved towards him as he pulled her closer. She sat back down beside him and smiled.

He moved his hand from hers and placed it on her hip, "Thank you, for loving me."

A smile crossed her face as she leaned down and placed her lips over his for a second before pulling away, "You've got ketchup on your lips." Her right hand left the bed and moved towards his face, her thumb touched the corner of his mouth and ran along his bottom lip, wiping off the bit of ketchup. She wiped her thumb on his napkin and kissed his nose, "How are you feeling?"

Lucas shrugged a bit, "The doctor just gave me some more meds. My mom decided on the surgery to help fix my heart so I'll be in here for a while."

"Is it dangerous?"

"The chances are good. Without the surgery I can't play basketball anymore. If I get the surgery there's a 70 chance I'll be able to play again."

"And the other 30?"

"No more basketball."

Brooke sighed, "The odds are in your favor."

Lucas nodded, "That's why my mom decided to go with it. She knows how much basketball means to me."

"Yeah. When's the surgery?"

"They'll prep me for it the week after next, take me in on Saturday and I'll be out of surgery that night."

"I'll be waiting."

"I wouldn't doubt it."

It was the Thursday before the surgery; Lucas would be going in, in 2 days. Brooke was sick. Haley wouldn't let her go near Luke in fear of getting him sick. She insisted it was just a stomach virus and he wouldn't catch it. She just wanted to see him before he went into surgery.

"Go to the doctor Brooke," Haley insisted as they drove home from school that day.

"Bevan just got over it. She gave it to me. All she needed to fix it was soup and rest. I've rested and had soup. I'm fine, just let me go see him," Brooke complained.

"And how reliable do you really think Bevan is?" Haley replied with a smirk.

Brooke didn't reply; Haley did have a point.

"Let me bring you to the doctor okay? If he says you're safe to be around him then you can go. I'm just looking out for Luke here. Lucas being sick could complicate the surgery and we don't want that do we?"

Brooke shook her head, "Fine. But when I'm right I'm getting to smack you okay?"

Haley rolled her eyes, "Fine. But if I'm right, I get to pick what you have your medicine with."

Haley had to practically drag Brooke into the doctor's office when the receptionist at the doctor's office called her name.

"Have you been exposed to any sick people lately?" The doctor asked as he took Brooke's temperature, "Your temperatures just a little high. 99.2."

Haley smirked at Brooke.

"Any vomiting or diarrhea?" The doctor asked Brooke.

"I've been throwing up," Brooke replied.

"Could just be stress," he answered as he glanced between the two girls.

"I've been getting a lot of headaches too. The sound of Tutor girl over here's voice sets them off," Brooke said glaring at Haley.

"Could be a simple stomach virus, I'll draw some blood just to be sure. Run a few tests," he replied.

Brooke nodded, "Is it okay to be around people? I mean is what I've got contagious?"

The doctor shrugged, "Let me run a few tests."

He drew blood from Brooke's arm and exited the room.

"Don't look so pleased with yourself because now you can't be around him either. You've spent the past week with me," Brooke said with a smirk.

"Jerk," Haley said playfully swatting Brooke's head.

It was 20 minutes before the doctor returned with a folder. Haley had gone to the bathroom. Now when Brooke was sure she wasn't contagious she got to officially rub it in Haley's face and mess with her head.

"So… am I contagious?" Brooke asked with a smile.

The doctor shook his head no, "Nope." "So what's wrong with me?"

The doctor handed Brooke a little package with a pill bottle inside, "Congratulations you're about 3 weeks pregnant."

Brooke dropped the little package and her mouth opened, she tried to speak but she couldn't.

"Brooke, are you alright?" Dr. Jameson asked touching Brooke's shoulder.

Brooke bent down and picked up the package, "Yeah. Fine. I'm just surprised. I mean we were careful and... Please don't tell Haley."

"Your girlfriend?"

Brooke laughed a bit, "No. She's my best friend. She's married to my boyfriend's brother. Just... don't tell her."

Dr. Jameson shook his head, "Patient doctor confidentiality."

Haley entered the room again, "She okay?"

The doctor nodded, "Yep. She's not contagious."

Brooke stuck her tongue out at Haley and stuffed the package into her pocket. Dr. Jameson slipped a small pregnancy packet into Brooke's pocketbook when Haley wasn't looking and set the two girls free.

"Take me to see him," Brooke demanded softly when they got back into the car.

Haley nodded, "You okay Brooke? You don't look very cheerful."

Brooke nodded, "I'm fine. Just bring me to see Luke."

It seemed like an hour long drive to the hospital, but in reality it was only a 4 song drive.

She walked slowly once she got inside the hospital; the bounce in her step was missing. She was confused; a little scared of Luke's reaction. She tapped lightly on his door when she finally reached his room. Haley had followed her, wondering why it took her 10 minutes to walk down the short hallway.

Brooke opened the door to Luke's room, plastered a smile on her face and stepped inside, Haley following her. Karen was in the room, talking to Lucas about something.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked completely ignoring whatever it was that his mother was trying to say. He knew something was wrong with Brooke; her fake smile never fooled him.

"Could I talk to you?" She asked barely above a whisper. She glanced from Karen to Haley, "Alone?"

Lucas nodded, "Mom... could you let us be for a second?"

Karen stood up, "Sure sweetheart. I'll be right outside."

Karen led Haley out of the room, gave Brooke a smile and exited the room, closing the door.

"What's up?" Lucas asked Brooke.

Her smile quickly faded as a tear fell from her eye, "You know I love you right?"

Lucas nodded, "You don't have HCM too right?"

Brooke laughed a little and sat down on the bed beside Lucas, "No. But I do have news. In a way it's good, but in a much larger way it's bad."

"Brooke?"

"Yeah?"

"What is it?"

She started to cry again, "I'm pregnant."

Lucas looked shocked, "You're sure?"

Brooke nodded, "I thought it was a stomach virus. I hadn't been here to see you for a while because Haley thought I was contagious and wouldn't let me come see you. We went to the doctor and he told me. Haley doesn't know."

Luke stretched his arms out and leaned up a bit, pulling her into his arms. He scooted over in the bed and helped her lay down beside him. Brooke nuzzled her head into his neck as she cried with his arms around her. He looked worried, scared, confused, almost as if he would cry. Hooked up to machines and preparing for heart surgery, Lucas Scott was going to be a father.

"What do you think she told him?" Haley asked as Brooke and Karen looked at them through the window.

"Looks heartbreaking," Karen replied as she looked at her son and the girl who had been like a daughter to her for the past few years.

Note: Wow, the reviews were really lacking on the last chapter. But thank you so much to the ones who did leave reviews. They really do mean a lot to me, they give me a reason to write. Huge thanks to CrazyAznChik, your review meant so much to me, it's the best one I've had yet. The more reviews, the faster I write!


	5. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

Note: Thank you all for your reviews. I'm so sorry that this took so long to get out. I had so much makeup work from the days I was out with pink eye from school. Expect another chapter within the next 2 days.

His voice was a little shaky when he started to talk, "What are we going to do?"

Brooke looked up with tears in her eyes and shook her head, "I don't know. We're only 17."

"I know Brooke. But, whatever it takes I know we can make it through."

Brooke nodded, "Where do we go from here?"

"My mom, we should tell her," Lucas replied moving his hand through Brooke's hair.

"You're ready for that? I mean you're going into surgery and all," Brooke replied leaning her head into Lucas again.

"I'd rather know you've got my mom to lean on while I'm in surgery. You won't be able to see me for a few days and you shouldn't have to be alone during those days," Lucas told her. "Besides, I don't need the stress of having to tell her during surgery. It'd be better to get it over with now, right?"

"Okay," Brooke answered with a sniffle, "What are you going to say?"

"The truth. Even though we tried to be careful, I got you preg-"

Brooke stopped him, "We did it together… We got pregnant."

Lucas smiled, "Even though we tried to be careful, we got pregnant."

"Way to be blunt," Brooke said softly.

"How else could we say it? By the way mom when you walked in on us a few weeks ago we weren't protected. Oh and Brooke's pregnant, see ya later?"

"Shut up Luke, you know what I meant. I just don't want her mad at you."

"She's going to be upset with us, possibly even slap me like she did last time but I don't care. We're young but I love you. I have no doubts in our ability to raise a child filled with love."

"I know the baby will be loved, but do you really think we can raise a baby? We both want different things. I want a penthouse in Manhattan with a gorgeous view and a job as one of the most sought after fashion designers. You would be happy as a middleclass worker with a family, a big backyard and a picket fence."

Lucas shook his head, "Correction. I want to be a basketball player; the team doesn't matter to me as long as my life involves you. We can stay here for college. We'll go to Duke. I can play college ball and you can study fashion."

"Lucas we'll have a baby. How can we do this and raise a child?" Brooke asked as the tears started to form in her eyes.

"We'll have help. Now, before I change my mind, go get my mom. We need to tell her."

Brooke sighed but nodded her head anyway. Her legs swung over the side of the bed as she leaned up, climbing to her feet.

"Come here," Lucas said reaching his hand out to her. She took a few steps towards him and looked down at him. His hand went to her face and he used his thumb to wipe her tears, "I love you Brooke, no matter what." A smile appeared on her face as she leaned down to kiss him. "Now go," he added just before he kissed her back. She pulled away and turned on her heel, heading for the door. One of her shaky hands reached towards the doorknob, she twisted it and opened the door. Haley instantly jumped up from off the floor beside the door, "You okay?"

Brooke shook her head yes, "Yeah, Karen could we just talk to you for a second?"

Brooke looked a little shaky to Karen, a curiosity sparked in her mind as she nodded, "Sure."

Brooke nodded her head as if to thank her and stepped aside to let her into Lucas' room. After Karen had gone in the room Brooke looked to Haley sadly and headed into the room, the door clicking shut behind her. Nobody said anything for a while, Lucas and Brooke starred at each other, wondering who was going to say something first.

"Mom-"

"Karen-"

They had both started to speak at the same time.

"You go-"

"You go-"

Again they did it.

"What's up?" Karen asked opting on stopping their knack for starting to speak at the same time.

Brooke looked to Lucas, "Should I?"

"No. I'll do it," Lucas told her with a nod.

"Do what?" Karen asked glancing between the two of them.

"You might want to sit down," Brooke said as she herself sat down on Lucas' bed.

Karen sat down in the chair off to the side of Luke's bed, "What'd you two do this time?"

'_May as well get it over with,_' Lucas told himself, "We, as you know, got back together and due to what happened a few weeks ago, you know we were having sex."

Karen nodded, not wanting the thought to be drawn out any further than that, "I know I can't stop you two but as long as you're careful-" "Mom, Brooke's pregnant."

Karen froze in her spot, all the color draining from her face. Brooke rose from the bed and opened her mouth to speak, "I didn't mean for this to happen. It was an accident. It's not Luke's fault."

Karen shook her head and stood up, her face looked stern as she shook her head, "Are you positive you're pregnant?"

Brooke nodded her head, "I thought I had a stomach virus or something so I went to the doctor. He said I was 3 weeks pregnant." Brooke swallowed, the words still sounded weird to her.

Karen nodded her head, "You two are going to raise the baby together? Neither of you will be dropping out of school?"

Lucas spoke up, "We'll both go to Duke, or somewhere close by for college. I can play basketball, Brooke can study design and we'll compromise with the rest."

Karen nodded her head again, "You'll be staying together?"

Brooke replied this time, "I have no intentions of ever leaving your son. I'm crazy about him."

Karen smiled at that, if anyone was going to end up being bound to Lucas for the rest of her life, she was glad it was Brooke.

"I'll let you two talk. I'm going to go tell Haley, she looked worried, if that's okay with you Lucas?" Brooke asked looking to Lucas.

He nodded and took her hand in his and squeezed it, "I love you."

Brooke leaned down and pressed her lips to his, quickly kissing him, "I love you too." She took her hand away after squeezing his hand gently and she exited the room. Haley was outside, sitting on the floor right beside the door. Brooke dropped down beside her and pulled her knees to her chest, "Hey."

Haley put an arm around Brooke and held her against her automatically knowing that something had upset her friend, "What's wrong Tigger?"

Brooke leaned her head on Haley's shoulder and started to talk. She explained the incident at Luke's house, what happened at the doctors, and everything in between. Her little speech ended with, "Now, I'm pregnant."

Haley looked at her wild-eyed, "What are you going to do?"

Brooke shrugged, "I don't know Hales. I'm going to have to finish off my senior year with a baby inside me. Lucas said we should go to Duke or a college near Tree Hill so we're close to his mom so we can get help from her but that's his dream. He wants the whole normal family thing; I want to live the highlife."

"I'm sure you can compromise. He'd do anything for you and you know it. College is a couple of years out of your lives. He'll become some huge basketball player if the surgery is a success, you'll be a fashion designer. He can play in any city; you can work from wherever you want. The thing that matters is your child," Haley told her.

Brooke nodded in agreement, "I know but that's where everything goes wrong in my head. Lucas and I have this incredible knack for hurting each other. We're going to fight over stupid things. Our actions will hurt our child in the end."

"You're in love, don't plan for the worst. A little Brucas baby would make us all happy."

"Brucas?"

"Hey, if you can call me and Nathan Naley, I can call you and Luke Brucas."

Brooke laughed and hugged Haley tightly, "Thanks Hales. You're a lifesaver."

"And when you two fight? What happens then?" Karen exclaimed at Lucas' pathetic response to her previous question.

"We'll worry about it when the time comes mom!" Lucas groaned back, Karen was making him a little mad.

"Lucas you've got to think these things through! You two will have a baby. You can't just up and decide you're over anymore like you two have done in the past. You'll be in college, school will frustrate you. What do you expect to do then?"

"Mom, stop. If Brooke or I have to put our lives on hold to take care of this baby then we will."

"I just don't want to see either of you hurt. I know how much you love each other and I'd hate to see either of you ruin your lives over this."

"We're not ruining our lives. What do you suggest we do mom? She won't have an abortion, she doesn't have it in her and I wouldn't let her. Adoption? Why should we let some other couple raise our baby? We could give our son or daughter a home filled with more love then he or she would ever need. I don't care if we're young, I don't care if we'll both mess up a lot with the raising of our kid, Brooke will be an amazing mother and I'm proud to say she's carrying my kid."

Karen nodded and kissed her son's forehead, "You're right. We can figure it out as we go along. Just know I'm here for both of you every step of the way."

"Thanks mom. I'm sure that will mean a lot to Brooke. She needs someone."

"You make it clear to her that when the baby is born, she can move in with us until you two go off to college."

Lucas nodded, "Thanks mom."


	6. Hello, I Love You

Note: I'm sorry this took so long; I said I'd have another chapter out a while ago but I found no desire to write. I didn't have much more makeup work to do but I got barely any reviews on the last chapter so I was in no rush to write another. But, I'm sure people still read, even if they don't click the little review button. Thanks to you, and to everyone who did leave a review. For my story's purpose, Ellie is still alive.

The only thing that Brooke was sure of at this moment was that Lucas needed her to be strong for him. She wasn't sure he'd be able to play basketball anymore, she wasn't sure he would be allowed. Lucas' dream is to play basketball and it would make him happy to be able to continue that so Brooke hoped for the best. After all, the odds are in his favor. Outside the door to Luke's room, a circle of people had formed. Karen and Keith, Nathan and Haley, Peyton and Ellie, each group was paired, waiting for Brooke to get out of the room so they could each attempt at dragging her home. Everyone had said their good lucks to Lucas, everyone that is, except Brooke. When her turn came to bid him luck and send him off to surgery, she'd quickly headed into the room, shutting the door behind her. Most of them had taken a mere 10 minutes but Brooke, she was already pushing a half an hour.

The two were lying in bed; Lucas had moved over and practically pulled her down next to him, claiming he wanted to hold her one last time before they'd be separated for a few days. Who was she to protest? His arm was around her, his hand in her hair. Their faces were close, close enough that Lucas could feel her breathing. Her arm was draped lightly over his torso, holding onto him softly; her body barely pressed against his, yet enough for them to feel each others body. Her head was leaning up so they could look into each others eyes, "But basketball makes you happy. I love when you brood, you get all cute but I don't want you brooding 24 hours a day because you can't play anymore."

"Brooke, basketball isn't the only thing that makes me happy," Lucas told her with a smile, his hand slipping through her hair, then moving back up to the top of her head to brush his fingers through it again. "You make me happy, being with you is enough."

Brooke smiled, "But-"

"No buts. We're happy together. You make me smile more than a game of basketball could. Besides, kissing a basketball wouldn't be nearly as much fun as kissing you," Lucas leaned up a little and placed a kiss on her forehead, "I'll be okay Brooke. With or without basketball, as long as I have you, I'm happy."

Brooke kissed him softly, "Well you come out of surgery safe and sound okay? You've got me... and our baby to live for now."

Lucas looked to her stomach and nodded, "I wonder what it'll look like."

Brooke smiled slightly, "She will be gorgeous. I mean with parents like us, the odds are in her favor."

"A girl eh?" Lucas asked, "How do you figure?"

Brooke shrugged, "I always pictured me having a girl before I have a son."

Lucas nodded, "I had a dream last night. You'd just given birth to our child. The baby was a girl, but the funny thing was, a little while into the dream, another girl is brought into the room."

"Twins? Oh, Luke, I don't think so."

"No, not twins, another little girl came in the room. She was young, she called you mommy."

"Don't start planning out second child," Brooke said with a laugh.

Lucas laughed, "No, one's sufficient for now." His hand left her hair, running it down her arm, then back up to her cheek. He pulled her head down to his and kissed her. Brooke kissed him back gently, keeping her weight off of him so she wouldn't hurt him. The two remained like that for a few minutes before Brooke ended their kiss before it got out of hand, "Hey. There will be plenty of time for that when you get out of surgery."

Lucas nodded, "4 days of no Brooke. What am I going to do with all the quiet?"

Brooke lightly smacked his head, "Jerk. You'll miss me."

"Of course I will," Lucas replied kissing her forehead again. "You should go home. The sooner they take me into surgery, the sooner I see you again."

Brooke shook her head, "I don't want to leave you." Her smile faded, tears welling in her eyes.

"No. Brooke, come on. Cheery doesn't cry," Lucas tried softly.

Brooke nodded and held back her tears, "Nope, no crying. I'll see you as soon as I can okay?"

"Okay. Now go home, get some sleep, make sure my mom doesn't worry about me too much, and tell her I love her," Lucas told Brooke, taking her hand in his.

"That'll be hard when I will be worrying too. And I'm not leaving. I'll sit in the waiting room if I have to. I'll be the first one to see you when they'll allow you visitors," Brooke told him, not even thinking about what she was saying.

Lucas shook his head but didn't answer her, "Love you Brooke."

"Love you too Luke," she kissed him on the forehead, then the nose, then his lips before she carefully climbed out of his arms and the bed. She rose to her feet, blew him a kiss and exited the room.

By then it had been 45 minutes of everyone waiting outside the door for her. Brooke shut his door behind her and looked up at Karen with tears in her eyes, "He says not to worry and he loves you." An arm was placed around her shoulders, "He'll be okay Brooke." She looked up, it was Peyton. Brooke leaned her head against her best friends shoulder but didn't reply. Peyton wrapped her other arm around Brooke and held her against her, "It'll be okay. Let me bring you home."

Brooke shook her head, "I'm not leaving him."

"Brooke, he needs you to be strong. You need to sleep, you look like crap," Peyton told her honestly.

"I'm going to stay here a little longer Brooke, "Karen told her.

Brooke nodded, "I don't want to go."

Karen placed her hand on her stomach, silently signaling the baby would suffer from that, she was being cryptic, unsure of whether Brooke had told anyone else, "He needs you to take care of yourself."

Brooke nodded her head; Karen was right, "Haley can bring me home, Nathan... Peyton, can you two tag along?"

Peyton looked to Ellie who had come along to offer support, "Uh, you can make it back alone?"

Brooke had forgotten Ellie was there, "She can come to Peyton, if she doesn't mind hanging out with a bunch of teenagers for a while. I just have to talk to you two for a little bit."

Haley looked up, knowing exactly what Brooke was going to tell them, "Are you sure? Does Lucas know you're telling them?"

Brooke shook her head no, "He doesn't but I want to."

Haley nodded and moved towards Peyton and Brooke, who were still hugging each other, she patted Brooke back and gave Karen and Keith each a hug goodbye. She and Nathan both headed out of the hallway, they had come to the hospital together with Brooke. Brooke broke away from Peyton, "I'll meet you at the apartment." Brooke moved to Karen, hugged her and told her to tell Lucas she loved him if she went to say goodbye once more. She said goodbye to Keith and waved to Ellie, following Nathan and Haley. Peyton and Ellie soon followed suit and exited the hospital.

"Looks like we're having a pow-wow," Peyton commented at the way the group was seated in a circle with pillows all around them.

"Shut up, I did it so I could see you all when I was talking," Brooke told her smacking her arm.

"What's wrong Brooke?" Peyton asked leaning against the couch that was at her back.

"Nothing's wrong, not technically at least. Karen and Haley know already, but before you go all "why did I know first" on me, Haley was there and Luke and I decided to tell Karen together. He has no clue I'm telling you guys. But you are my best friend, so you should know."

"Get on with it," Peyton said.

"Let her do it her way Peyton," Haley said leaning in to Nathan a little.

"And you're his brother Nathan, and my friend, that's why you're here if you're wondering," Brooke said. "Even though it's like freakishly weird that you're like alive, you're my best friends mother and I guess you should know what goes on in her life so counting I'm part of that you ought to know too. Peyton would tell you anyway, so I figure its better you hear it from me."

"Are you dying or something Brooke? Joining a convent? You have to be a virgin to enter one of those so you wouldn't be allowed. What's this about?" Nathan asked.

"Funny you bring up being a virgin," Brooke commented softly, "Since it has to do with that."

"What'd you do?" Peyton said expecting she went off and confessed her sexual sins to a priest and became a secondary virgin or something.

"Give her a second," Haley groaned.

"Thank you," Brooke said with a pause. "You all know Lucas and I are not strangers to sex, after all the basis of our first relationship was sex. But obviously we've grown up and fallen in love, continued to have sex."

"Brooke-" Peyton started, she didn't need to be told things she and Nathan already knew.

"Shut up Peyton," Haley said, not letting her finish.

"Remember I told you Karen caught us right after we finished having sex a month or so ago?" Brooke asked Peyton.

Peyton nodded, "Yeah?"

"Remember I was sick and Haley wouldn't let me visit Luke because she didn't want me to get him sick? We went to the doctor, Haley and I. He drew some blood and ran a few tests to see if I was carrying a contagious illness so I could prove to Haley I'd be fine to go see him. He told me I wasn't contagious, I told you that right?"

Nathan and Peyton both nodded this time.

"Right, I left out a major detail."

"You aren't dying are you?" Peyton asked, restating Nathan's old question.

Brooke shook her head, "No. But I'm having a baby. Lucas and I are having a baby."

Peyton's jaw dropped, she didn't even know what to say. This was huge. Brooke, her best friend, was having a baby… with Lucas. Nathan choked on the water he had started to drink, "Pregnant? A baby? You and Lucas?"

"Yes. A baby, I'm pregnant," Brooke replied with a slow nod.

Ellie, who was sitting on the couch, out of their little 'pow-wow' spoke up, "You're rather calm about the whole thing."

Brooke nodded, "The baby's father is supportive as well as its grandmother. I've had time to process it and we decided we could do it, together."

Peyton started to talk, "Wow. Brooke, this is huge."

"I've talked to Lucas about this as well; we decided it'd be right to christen the baby. Neither of us are heavily catholic, but we want our child to have the option to be, so we're going to. When the baby's older, she or he can decide whether or not being religious is something she or he wants to do. That said, Nathan, since you're Lucas' brother, would be the godfather. We know that normally this type of responsibility should go to a married couple, and Haley is you're wife, but… Peyton," Brooke turned to face her, "You've been there through everything with me, and you'll be getting the responsibility as godmother, if you two will accept that."

Peyton nodded, as did Nathan. Haley had been in the hospital room with Brooke and Lucas when they discussed this. She didn't really understand why they were so worried about it though. Probably because they were so young, worrying about the little things was something they were bound to do during the pregnancy.

"I... gosh Brooke, this is so huge. You're having a baby. Lucas' baby," Peyton said.

Brooke nodded, "I know. It's a lot to handle, but you deserved to know. You'd have figured it out when my stomach got huge anyway. Luckily, we got pregnant in December, making his or her due date in September; we'll be out of school before I start to show majorly"

Peyton lunged at Brooke, wrapping her arms around her, "Congratulations Brooke, you seem so happy."

Brooke smiled, "Surprisingly, I am. It's a baby Lucas and I can love."

The two best friends sat on the floor in a hug. Nothing could bring Brooke down from the high she was feeling at that very moment in time.

Note: The more reviews, the faster I update. This is going to be a long story, I've got a lot planned in this little brain of mine.


	7. Lasting Impressions

Note: Laura369 the answer to your question is: Ellie isn't in remission; she has cancer and has not died yet. If this was the actual show, what's going on now is BEFORE the album release. The only difference is, since I liked Peyton and Ellie's storyline, Ellie IS still on her treatments.

Maybe she spoke too soon. There was something that could bring her down and it was happening right now.

"Minimum of 5 pages, maximum of 10, this report is due in 2 weeks," Ms. Kendall, one of the English teachers at Tree Hill High said as she passed out a rubric to each student. Brooke glanced up after she read the objective. "Life story? Ms. Kendall isn't that a little 6th grade?" Brooke asked with a groan.

"This will be about your high school life. Do you recall the time capsule tape you all made last year?" Ms. Kendall began to answer Brooke's question. A few students in the classroom nodded, "You could say this is the same thing, the only difference is that these high school stories will be given to freshman students in 15 years. You could call this a guide. Therefore this will be nothing like your 6th grade autobiography Ms. Davis."

Brooke nodded, "Are you going to be reading these? I mean a lot of ours could get pretty graphic." Brooke shot a look at Rachel who was on the other side of the classroom. Rachel quickly flicked her off when the teachers back was turned.

Ms. Kendall shook her head, "I'll be reading your opening paragraph, your ending and counting the pages to make sure you're within the limit."

"Interesting project, don't you think?" Haley asked Peyton and Brooke as she sat down beside them at a table during lunch.

Brooke nodded, "Kinda sucky though too. Especially if she magically decides to read mine."

"Why, the past few years have been good to you?" Haley asked.

"I've been with so many guys over the course of the years, freshman year and sophomore year, I practically slept with everyone. Then there was Felix in junior year, yeah I had some high school career Hales," Brooke replied.

"You've redeemed yourself, even managed to snag Lucas," Peyton mentioned taking a sip of the water she had brought.

"15 years, I'll still be alive and coherent, possibly still living here, who needs the town knowing my secrets."

Haley patted her back, "Don't worry about it Brooke. Think happy things. Lucas is out of surgery, 2 more days and you can see him."

Brooke's eyes lit up, "Lucas, I can't wait to see him."

"It's only been two days Brooke, you'll make it another two," Haley told her as Nathan came up behind her to take her away.

"That's easy for you to say Haley, Nathan's not in the process of having a life changing surgery," Brooke said pouting.

"He'll be okay Brooke. We all just have to stay strong for him," Nathan said putting his arm around Haley.

"Could you guys make this any gloomier? What's up with you four?" Lucas asked from his hospital bed, three weeks into his two month stay.

"Nothing, it was just this thing... for school. It's got us all thinking," Peyton said with a shrug from her spot beside Nathan in one of the chairs near Lucas' bed.

Brooke nodded from her place beside Lucas on his bed, "It brought back a lot of buried memories."

"I found it easy," Haley chimed in hesitantly from her spot on Nathan's lap.

"That's because you're the good girl," Nathan said kissing the side of her head.

Brooke shrugged, "She's lucky. Mine got pretty… bad."

_Both of Brooke's hands were in position on the keyboard of the laptop Haley had set up for her in the kitchen. The fact that Haley was around was getting to Brooke. She really didn't know why, since she already knew that Haley accepted her for who she was now, not who she had been. Brooke quickly shook off her thoughts, this paper wasn't going to write itself._

"_So you're a freshman eh? Congratulations, you made it through middle school. Let me be the first to tell you that 8th grade was so much easier. But, if you're anything like me, you're extremely excited for high school, despite everybody's warnings. For me, being in high school meant Varsity cheerleading, and tons of new, gorgeous boys. I can honestly say that I wish I could change that. I'm one of those girls that nobody really ever __**got. **__I'm not going to brag, but I had money, I was on the cheerleading squad, I hung out with the older girls, made friends with the untouchable guys… I had a seemingly perfect life. I guess it'd be best to start from the beginning. My name is Brooke Davis and I'm what you would call a beautiful disaster. Conceited? No. Confident? Yes."_

_And there it was, she had her first paragraph complete. From there she went on to describe her freshman year, filled with information about her non-existent parents, her more important than anything else friendship with Peyton that she'd had since she was a mere 5 years old and everything from discovering alcohol and sex. It went on much like that up until she reached junior year._

"_At this moment in time, my world changed. Everything practically fell apart before my eyes. I was captain of cheerleading, I'd slept with most of the guys at school, I had all the right friends… but then I met him; the blond haired gorgeous eyed boy known as Lucas Scott. He wasn't like other guys; he wasn't like them at all. Most of the guys I knew would jump at a chance for a date with me, but Lucas... he made me work for it. I showed up naked in the backseat of his car one night after a basketball game, changing out of my cheerleading uniform. From then on, I was hooked. I can't remember the date, but it was sometime, a few weeks after the night I was naked in his car. We'd discussed a possible date, but I had to do something for him first. I had to read a book, "The Winter of Our Discontent," by John Steinbeck. I agreed and read the book. The next night, Lucas and I went out. Our date was at a bar, where I proceeded to whoop his ass at a game of pool, which soon led to a few beers, a heavy makeout session in the back of the bar, and a new tattoo for Lucas. We were together for a while, something you know I never did since you've read all about my freshman and sophomore years. It wasn't long before I knew I was really falling for him. Then, right there, my world crashed before my eyes. Lucas got hurt, he was in a car accident with his uncle. After spending time worrying about him constantly with his mother, I got to see him. That was when he broke up with me. I was heartbroken, really heartbroken. But I figured he'd had his reasons, hopefully that'd he'd sort out and we'd be us again. He did have his reasons, remember my best friend Peyton, the one I've talked so highly of throughout this letter? Lucas had been cheating on me with Peyton. I blamed them both, she'd known just how much I cared for him, especially since I'd told her I was really falling for him and Lucas never should have started something with me, if all he wanted was my best friend."_

_She was up to 7 pages now and was rather proud of herself. From there she'd gone on to discuss the pregnancy scare, making up with Peyton as well as Lucas. And from there she talked about Felix, as little as she possibly could, but he was definitely in there. Ultimately ending that chapter of her life with Lucas, and how he came to tell her he loved her. She continued on, taking special care in the next part._

"_Upon returning to Tree Hill after the summer ended, I had to confront Lucas and move my stuff into the apartment I'd rented, which just so happened to be Haley and Nathan's old one. I started up a relationship with Lucas that'd I'd promised myself I would never be part of again. We became friends with benefits. It was tough, really tough, but we accepted it. Well, at least he did at first. This wasn't what really made this year the best though. Haley moved into the apartment with me. Our friendship grew from there. I can honestly say that Haley is one of the best friends I've ever had. She's been there for me through it all, helping me up when I fell, and being there when I needed her most. Don't think I didn't return the favor, because I did. It's come to the point that Haley and I are no longer friends, but sisters."_

_She continued, adding tidbits about her relationship with Haley, how the friends with benefits relationship with Lucas came to an end, Rachel and Chris. She discussed their reunion, making sure not to leave out any details of them getting back to where they are now._

"_We're pregnant now. I'm about a month and a half along. Lucas has taught me so much about life and love. I'm sure you don't really know this song, but it's really kinda popular now, it's called "You and Me," by Lifehouse... and there's this lyric and it goes, "there's something about you now, I just can't quite figure it out, everything she does is beautiful, everything she does is right." Change the she's to he's and that's exactly how I feel about Lucas. He is the one for me, and if all of this terrible crap in high school had to happen to get me to the place I'm at now, then so be it. A very wise girl once said, "If having that is tragic, then give me tragedy because I wouldn't give it back for the world."_

_And she ended it, in the middle of the 10th page._

"She won't let anyone read it," Peyton complained to Lucas, "She said she wouldn't even let you read it."

"I'll get it out of her," Lucas said with a grin.

"No you won't," Brooke replied shaking her head with a smile.

"5 more weeks and I'll be kicking your ass at Rivercourt," Lucas said to Nathan, opting on changing the subject.

"What'd the doctors say about that?" Nathan asked.

"They won't know until after I'm out of here and they do a followup after I'm out a week," Lucas replied looking up at Brooke, "I'm hoping for the best."

"Oh… that sucks.. I mean, the not knowing part," Nathan said looking a little glum.

"Can we talk about something else? Got any jokes? I could use a good laugh," Lucas said looking up at the gang with a smile.

"You know what would be funny, a non-alcoholic game of I Never, we can see how quick we can knock Brooke out of the game," Peyton suggested with a laugh.

"Jerk," Brooke complained leaning over Lucas carefully to swat Peyton's head playfully, accidentally hitting Haley instead.

Haley spoke up now, "Yes, let's play."

Brooke rolled her eyes with a laugh," Fine. I'll start then. Hey Peyton.. I've never kissed a band nerd in the school courtyard."

"Bitch," Peyton smirked putting down one of her ten fingers, 9 more and she was out. "I've never had sex on a kitchen table," she added, aiming that one at Brooke. Much to her surprise, not only did Brooke and Lucas each put a finger down, but Haley and Nathan as well.

"Whoa! Hales, I didn't know you had it in you," Peyton smiled.

Haley shrugged, "I've never kissed a girl."

All four put down another finger.

Brooke laughed, "Poor little Haley never kissed a girl… yet."

"Brooke-?" Haley started to say before Brooke leaned over Lucas again, pressing her lips to hers, placing a kiss on her lips that lasted a mere 3 seconds before moving away with a grin, "Now she has."

"Brooke!" Haley gasped, leaning back into a laughing Nathan, a little embarrassed.

"You're welcome," Brooke smiled leaning back against Lucas who had just finished clapping.

"Okay... I've never.. slept in the same bed as Brooke." Nathan said thinking of ways to knock everyone else out. Lucas, Peyton and Haley each put a finger down.

"You too Brooke," Nathan said.

"What? That's cheap… of course I sleep in the same bed as… well me!" Brooke complained putting down another one of her fingers.

Lucas smiled, "Sore loser Brooke? I've never… had better friends than you guys."

They all lost a finger again. "Don't get all sappy," Brooke laughed, kissing his cheek. "I've never gotten a girl pregnant," Brooke added with a smirk in Lucas' direction.

Lucas put a finger down, "Cheater."

"Guess I'm down one too?" A voice asked gently from the doorway. None of them had heard the door open, no less a person enter. The voice had startled them all. The sound of the voice was familiar though, casing them all to slowly look up. Peyton's voice was next to be heard, barely coherent enough for them to understand. But if their ears weren't deceiving them, all four would have bet she'd just said "Jake."

Authors Note: Now is where you can be mad and prepare to throw rocks and lemons at me. Actually, I'd prefer kiwis. Don't you just hate cliffhangers? Yep, I do too. Reviews equals love.


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